Pointers
by labgeekluvr
Summary: CSI meets Cyrano de Bergerac: Grissom asks Greg's advice on a gift for a lady friend, but will it backfire?


Title: Pointers

Rating: T

Time: After "Leaving Las Vegas"

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, all belong to the writers of CBS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Greg was on his lunch break when he received a call on his cellphone. He checked the caller i.d. and saw that it was Grissom.

"Grissom, hey, how's it going? How's New England?" Greg asked cheerfully.

"Things are going well. How are your preparations going for your deposition?" Grissom asked in return.

"I took your advice. The union hooked me up with a lawyer, she seems to know her stuff. Hopefully if I stick to what's in the report, and she does her job, then things will go well," Greg said.

"Glad to hear it. Speaking of advice, I have a favor to ask of you," Grissom said.

"You want to ask me for advice? I don't know how much help I can be to you, but ask away," Greg asked, suprised.

"Well, I've noticed you seem to be very popular with the ladies, so I thought you might be able to help me out with something," Grissom said hesitantly.

Greg smiled. "Well, you came to the right place. How can I help you?"

"Well, when I left for my seminar, I said goodbye to Sa...someone special, and it didn't go over well. It's kinda complicated. But I wanted to send this person something to make up for our awkward goodbye," Grissom said.

"Wow, that's pretty romantic of you. Who's the lucky lady?" Greg queried.

"I'd rather keep that a secret for the time being," Grissom said softly.

"Well, maybe if I knew a little bit about her, I might be able to help you more," Greg continued.

"Well, she's very...earthy," Grissom said thoughtfully.

"Earthy?" Greg asked.

"Close to nature. She likes animals. She's a vegetarian," Grissom replied.

"Sounds a lot like Sara," Greg volunteered.

Grissom paused for a moment. "I wouldn't know," he lied.

"Really, I thought the two of you had a history back in San Francisco," Greg continued.

"What does that have to do with what we're talking about?" Grissom asked, hoping to steer Greg off the subject of Sara.

"Nothing, I was just struck by the similarites, that's all. How about a kitten?" Greg suggested.

"She's allergic, and besides her apartment complex doesn't allow pets," Grissom said.

"How about a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear? I've gotten a lot of success with that," Greg bragged.

"Well if it works for you, it must be good. Flowers and a teddy bear it is. Thanks for your help, Greg," Grissom said.

"Anytime, boss. Enjoy the rest of your sabbatical," Greg said.

The next evening, a package arrived at the crime lab for Sara. She opened the box to find a teddy bear and a bouquet of roses. The card attached read "To Sara, Love, "G". Nick and Warrick ambled down the hall just as Sara was reading the card.

"Hey, Sara," Nick said. "What's that you've got there?"

"Sara's got a secret admirer," Warrick teased.

"Knock it off, guys," Sara smiled.

"Who's "G"? Sanders! That's gotta be from Greg, only Greg would be mushy enough to send a teddy bear and flowers," Nick said, slapping Warrick on the shoulder.

"You don't seriously think it's from Greg, do you?" Sara said, rolling her eyes.

"C'mon, Sara," Warrick said. "You know as well as we do he's been harboring a crush for you for years now."

"Yeah, I know, but he's never been this overt about it before. It's kinda sweet actually," Sara said, smiling. "I'll talk to him later. Don't tease him about it."

"Don't worry, we won't," Nick said, winking at Warrick as soon as Sara turned and walked down the hall. Nick and Warrick encountered Greg in the breakroom, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Speak of the devil, there's Cassanova himself," Nick teased.

"My reputation must have preceded me," Greg said, breathing on his knuckles and rubbing them on his lapel.

"That was a smooth operation you pulled there, Sanders," Warrick said.

"And what smooth operation would that be?" Greg asked.

"C'mon, you know what we're talking about. The little present you sent to Sara today," Nick nudged.

"What present? I didn't send Sara anything. Is today her birthday? Did I miss it?" Greg said.

"No, dude, it's not her birthday," Warrick answered. "You mean to tell us you had nothing to do with a bouquet of roses and a teddy bear being sent to Sara today?"

"It wasn't me who sent it," Greg said, not registering what had happened.

"Well, who else signs their name "G"?" Nick asked.

"Maybe she's seeing someone...named George, or Gary, or..."Greg said, the wheels starting to turn.

"Or what?" Warrick asked.

"Never mind, it couldn't be," Greg said walking away from them.

"What? No, you don't, Sanders, you've gotta tell us. Or what?" Nick pushed.

"Nah, it's just a coincidence," Greg said.

"What is?" Nick and Warrick said together.

Greg drew a deep sigh. "Okay, you didn't hear this from me. But Grissom called me yesterday."

"Grissom?" Nick and Warrick asked together.

"And he said that when he left he said goodbye to a lady friend, and it didn't go well, and that he wanted to send her something and he wanted my advice," Greg said.

"I knew it! I knew Grissom had a girlfriend," Nick cheered.

"Wait a minute, though. Grissom asked you for advice on what to send his lady friend? Like you have any success with the ladies," Warrick teased.

"I'll have you know that I've been quite successful with the ladies. I've just had more pressing matters on my mind lately, with the trial and everything," Greg protested.

"Understandable," Nick agreed. "So what did you tell Grissom to get his lady friend?"

"Well, he said that she liked animals and earthy stuff," Greg started.

"And..." Nick and Warrick chimed together.

"And...I told him to send her a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear, because that usually worked for me," Greg said. "But it couldn't be Grissom. If he was seeing Sara, we'd know about it, wouldn't we?"

"Not necessarily," Nick cautioned. "Grissom's a pretty private guy. He didn't even appreciate the hug I gave him when he left."

"And Sara certainly fits the description that you gave of his lady friend being "earthy"," Warrick added.

"But wouldn't they get in trouble for having a relationship? He's our boss," Greg said.

"Only if Ecklie found out, which ain't gonna happen from us," Nick said.

"You can say that again," Warrick said.

"Still sounds kinda fishy to me," Greg said, defeated.

"Sorry, Greggo. Looks like you struck out again," Nick said, patting Greg's shoulder.

"Better luck next time, bro," Warrick said as he and Nick left together.

Greg turned back to his coffee, loaded it with cream and sugar, and sat down at the table to drink it, dejected. Suddenly Sara walked into the room.

"Greg, there you are. I've been looking for you," Sara smiled.

"Really?" Greg asked suprised.

"Yeah. I got a package today–a teddy bear and a bouquet of roses, and I was wondering if you knew..."

"They're not from me, Sara," Greg replied sadly.

"Oh, okay," Sara responded stunned.

"They're from Grissom," Greg said softly.

"Grissom? How did...why would he send me flowers and a teddy bear?" Sara asked, covering.

"He called me yesterday. He said that when he said goodbye to his 'lady friend' that it was awkward. He wanted to send her something to make up for it and he wanted my advice on what to send," Greg explained, not looking at her.

Sara was stunned. She could not believe what was happening. "Greg, I'm speechless," she said, sitting down next to him. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. This is awkward."

Greg laughed. "Sara, I won't say anything. No one will."

"No one? You mean the others know too?" Sara asked.

"We all kinda figured it out together–me, Nick, and Warrick," Greg said.

"How did this come about?" Sara demanded.

"They came in here teasing me about sending you the bear and flowers, and I told them it wasn't me. We tried to figure out who it might be, and I remembered Grissom called me yesterday. We just put two and two together from there," Greg explained.

"Great, so now the whole lab knows," Sara fumed.

"Not the whole lab, just us four, and Grissom. And we all swore we wouldn't say anything," Greg said. "Your secret's still safe with us."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Sara wondered. "Anyway, thanks for your advice," Sara said, patting Greg's arm. "It was very sweet. The flowers are beautiful and the bear is adorable."

"What can I say? I have excellent taste," Greg smiled.

Sara stood up and bent over to give Greg a kiss on the cheek. She exited the breakroom leaving Greg slowly stirring his coffee, mulling over how his good advice had come back to bite him in the rear end.

"Hi, Gris, it's Sara," Sara said to Grissom's voicemail. "Just calling to thank you for the flowers and the teddy bear. Also wanted to let you know that your token of affection gave us away, but not to worry. Only Greg, Nick, and Warrick know, and they'll make sure to keep it that way. I've already thanked Greg for his advice to you. Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. Have fun. Bye."

Grissom listened to his voicemail and grimmaced. "I knew I should have sent it to her apartment instead of the crime lab. When will I ever learn?" he thought to himself.


End file.
